Carson's getting HUGE!

I think it's about time for another Carson update.  He is now a little over 9 months old, he is gigantic!  He has 8 teeth now.  He figured out how to crawl the "normal" way last month and has devoted his time to mastering that.  He can climb a whole flight of stairs (he often climbs the basement stairs, we're right there of course, and then tries to crawl off to the other set of stairs for more).  He LOVES to hold onto things and push them around.  It started with a plastic bin the kids had in the family room and then he has progressed up to a push toy.  He has developed a love for grass and will now crawl EVERYWHERE.  He's even started to eat the grass less, he very much prefers to be moving now.  He enjoys peek-a-boo and will chase you if you hide behind furniture or around a corner.  He's been fighting a cough that just wont quit (despite several medicines) but still manages to be in a good mood most days. He makes the sound "da", "ya", "ma", and "ba".  His favorite thing to do is play with Papa G and his second favorite is to be actively chasing or playing with his siblings.  My favorite thing, he still has his DIMPLES!!!

A couple of pictures

I feel bad that so many posts seem to be about Carson but of course when they're that little they change so fast so that's too bad.  I'm sure it'll even back out eventually.  This little man is MOVING.  He army crawls really fast and is starting to get into everything!  He now has 4 teeth (as of about a week ago).  He loves to slide himself off the couch on his tummy (you just have to hold your hand behind him so he doesn't topple backwards).  His favorite thing is to stand up and play with things.  He also really enjoys holding your hands and walking.  He actually takes steps though he's nowhere near doing it on his own.  He is such a happy little boy!  He ADORES his siblings.  He definitely prefers to play with them right around him, he'll get upset if theyr'e too far away from him.   Kayda and Dillon adore him too.  It's really cute when they're not fighting about who Carson's looking at. 

He's already such a great little helper!  Who knew an almost 7 month old baby could help unload the dishwasher!

Tummy Time!

It's here...the time when a baby seems to be doing something new on a weekly basis. Carson rolled over on November 4th, from his tummy to his back (though he hasn't repeated that performance yet).  Also on that day, he used just his legs to "crawl" himself over the top of the boppy.  He ended up with his face on the ground and his little bottom up in the air (he HAS repeated that).  Then last Friday (November 11th) he laughed for the first time, he continued that on Saturday.  Then Sunday he found his thumb, he used it to help him go to sleep last night.  That will be interesting, he's our first baby that hasn't taken a pacifier.   He is growing so fast, at two months he was already taller and heavier than several of our friends' babies at FOUR months.  He's not even a chubby guy the way Dillon was.  Carson is just a tall buff little baby.  If he's anything like his siblings we're in for an explosion of new things.  Is it bad that I'm kind of hoping he's not and that he'll take his time?   

Here's a picture of my little 14 week old boy.  We were doing some tummy time, which I can't say he particularly enjoys but he had fun long enough to snap this picture this morning!

Busy Babies

Dillon has discovered that he can get anywhere that he wants to go now. If he wants me, instead of sitting and crying, he'll simply crawl after me. He's also figured out that he can explore new things and places. He crawled over to Kayda's kitchen while she was playing and decided that he wanted to play too. Kayda decided that she didn't want to share the kitchen so she left but he stayed and opened and closed the "oven" and "refridgerator" he had a great time until he moved himself over to one of our kitchen table legs and got stuck!

Kayda has decided she knows how to change a diaper. She was trying to put one of her diapers on her little tiny baby doll, after she tried several times I managed to find a size one diaper hidden away by itself and put that on the doll for her.

She decided to help me change Dillon's diaper today and I was giving him raspberries on his tummy. She thought that was funny so she started doing it too. They both thought that was incredibly entertaining!

So Incredible...

Yesterday Kayda, Dillon and Daddy were sitting on the couch. Kayda was sitting on one end on her own while Dillon was sitting next to Daddy. She decided, for reasons unknown to us, that she wanted Dillon to sit by her. She also decided that she was going to do it herself. Poor little Dillon was dragged across the couch by his big sister. Of course he thought it was hilarious. Good thing they love each other so much!

I have been swaddling Kayda's baby doll for her the last few days before we lay it in its "bassinet". Kayda decided today that she wanted to be swaddled too. At first she was trying to have me do it with her favorite baby blanket but of course she has grown considerably and it just isn't sufficient for the job any longer. So I got a big purple blanket we have and swaddled her. Once she was swaddled she decided that she wanted to hold her baby, of course her arms are tucked in so that meant the her baby got tucked in as well. She didn't want to be held by either Daddy or Mommy and she didn't want to lay on the floor or in the bean bag chair so I set her in her Dora chair. Well, being the determined little girl that she is she decided that she didn't want to be there any more so she got on the floor and actually managed to stand up and "walk" around in her blanket! I think she is going to be a professional potato sack racer!

Kayda has developed a fake smile. It cracks me up because it is most definitely NOTHING like her real smiles!

Dillon is becoming more and more independent. He is still very attached to me but he's starting to crawl around after things and explore. I was down on the floor trying to take pictures of him crawling and he decided he was interested in the camera so I got a VERY close one but I think it's cute. He's getting really FAST now it's amazing! Today we were going to have a barbecue/cake thing for Daddy's birthday but he wasn't feeling well. He's got a cold that knocked him out for an extra couple of hours this morning and left him feeling dizzy whenever he stood up the rest of the day. I got this shirt for Dillon and thought it was appropriate for "celebrating" Daddy. It says "If you think I'm cool you should see my dad". Notice Dillon is standing up with the assistance of Kayda's push car. Well, I let him keep holding on to it and he started walking around it. He ended up tipping it over. Just before this he was "superman" on the side of the car, I thought he was going to be stuck but he managed to get up. Like I said he's getting REALLY mobile and is crawling everywhere and pulling himself to standing on anything he can get a hold of.

Wow look at him go!

Tonight after the bath Dillon was playing in front of Kayda's mirror while I got her into her jamas. Daddy had gone out to answer the phone so when she was dressed Kayda decided to run after him. Well, Dillon LOVES his big sister and decided that he had better chase after her so he got up on his hands and knees and crawled all the way down the hall. Kayda came back and started crawling around on the floor with him and he faithfully followed her anywhere she went. He ended up making it almost to the kitchen and back, with shorter trips back and forth in between. It was so much fun to watch! I'm absolutely amazed! He's just like Kayda in the fact that when he decides to do something he just does it. It might take him a while to decide but once he does he's committed and nothing can change his mind!

The only way Kayda will have milk...

This seems to be the only way we can get Kayda to have milk... she'll eat milk products but she won't drink plain old milk, we've even tried chocolate milk. Course she doesn't like juice either. The only beverage she seems to like is water and the little sips of pops she can get from the bottom of daddy's empty cans. She really only takes about two sips of anything that's not water. I'm hoping that when Dillon switches to whole milk she'll decide it's interesting again. She used to like it... until we took away the bottles...

Dillon has decided that this is an exciting activity. He'll stand next the exersaucer and rock it for quite a while. He also crawled across the room several times today. there were a few times he was chasing after Kayda and one time that he wandered into the laundry room to explore on his own. I'll be spending this weekend sifting through all the things Kayda has dragged out to get anything he shouldn't put in his mouth out of his reach. It's so much fun to watch!!!

I got one of him crawling while these were loading! Check it out!!!

More Random Things!

Kayda wearing Daddy's socks and Mommy's flip-flops.

Dillon watching a movie and playing with his piggy.

Kayda discovered an old stuffed animal of mine at Grandma G's today. We brought it home and she decided it was made for her to lay on! Good thing it's not a real dog, most of them won't take too kindly to that. With the exception of a select few.

Crawling!

Dillon is trying desperately to crawl! Last Saturday he did it for the first time, managing to move forward about 6 inches. Then today he decided to do a repeat performance! He managed to make it about a foot, maybe more. Of course when I saw him and ran to get the video camera he decided he would much rather be in mommy's arms so he started crying and wouldn't stop. Yesterday he also stood, perfectly balanced for about 5 seconds without holding on to anything or anyone! The little guy is on the move. I'm excited but it's kind of weird having my little baby boy becoming so active when he's always been such a mellow little snuggler. Fortunately he isn't abandoning his snuggling ways and his favorite place is still in someone's arms.

Meanwhile little miss Kayda is adding to the animal noises that she knows and refers to the animals based on the noises they make. The other day she selected her pajamas that have dogs on them by saying "woof woof". I would ask her, "what's on your 'jamas" and she would say "woof woof" again. She says "mum" now instead of "mama" which I had a hard time with at first and today she actually talked to her daddy on the phone as opposed to sitting there and listening to him talk. She has also added "ice", "bubble" and "apple" to her vocabulary. She's getting interested. I want her to talk but at the same time I want her to slow down. Talking just seems like she's getting so big and I'm trying to adjust to that phase!

Making up for lost time

Dillon has decided to make up for his months of just sitting. On Wednesday I believe it was Brian saw him pull himself to standing with the couch. He did again today at Aunt Anna's. He is also starting to make his way little teeny tiny bits forward on his hands and knees now. It's exciting.

Kayda is being VERY affectionate of Dillon and tries to hug him and kiss him and help him walk. She is actually very good at being a stable person for Dillon to hold on to when he's standing up.

They're so sweet!

Rockin' and Talkin'

Finally caught some good videos. Dillon was trying to get the dominoes and Kayda was doing really good until she got distracted because Daddy came home and I didn't have my next question ready for her in time. They're still adorable though!!!

To the Park!

After work today I decided that I was motivated... Since it is a BEAUTIFUL day today we went to the park! There's a new park over by horizon elementary that we went to. It's great! It has EVERYTHING, a merry-go-round, big kids toys, rock walls, little kid toys, swings, the little rocking horses etc. Kayda thought it was WONDERFUL and I think Dillon enjoyed it too.

As always we HAD to go on the swings. It's Kayda's favorite toy. Dillon cracked me up, he looks all cool and suave leaning back on his arms like that while he swung. Kayda had fun but fortunately there were enough interesting things around that she didn't want to be pushed on the swings the whole time. She LOVED it when I did underdoggies. She just laughed and laughed. Unfortunately I couldn't get the camera ready fast enough after I did it to catch her smiles.

They had a car on a spring that kids can sit and rock in. Kayda climbed into it and immediately wanted Dillon in there too so I set him in there. (Yes, I'm holding him there so he won't fall and smack his head on the bar). I thought this picture was funny because Kayda looks like a serious driver while Dillon is the laid back passenger. Her hair was doing some pretty fun things too because of the wind.
Kayda decided that she really likes the merry-go-round. She absolutely refused to sit down. Which was kind of good actually considering it was pretty warm.  She spun around a few times and then decided she wanted us up there too, so we were all three spinning for a while.  She kept telling me "more"!  So we just kept spinning.
Kayda had fun climbing through the tunnels and Dillon just kind of sat around and looked at things. I put him down close to things I thought he'd want to explore but all he wanted to do was watch either Kayda or I. It was a really fun adventure. It turned out to be easier than I thought it would be because we were the only people there so Kayda could kind of explore on her own as long as I was pretty close by. We stayed for about an hour and then on the way home they crashed. Maybe I'll do this more often!!!

I HAD to post a picture of Dillon on his hands and knees. He's starting to try to move now, he'll kind of throw an arm and a leg forward but his arm won't be ready for the extra weight so it'll collapse. He's going to be crawling soon. 
And last but certainly not least, being the water family we are I had to put this one of them in the bathtub! They're too cute sometimes... alright so I lied. They're too cute ALL the time!

They're growing up so fast...

Dillon has decided to make up for the fact that he didn't roll over for over 7 months. Since figuring out how to roll back to tummy he now...

1. Rolls around ANY time you set him down or spins himself around on his tummy.

2. Gets on his hands and knees and rocks (he managed to move forward a little bit yesterday)

3. Wants to stand up whenever possible (he holds onto things and plays, if he's holding onto your hands he'll let go with one hand now)

4. He's figured out the motion of walking and if you hold his hands to support him he'll start trying to walk where he wants to go.

5. Has started thinking about cruising around furniture (he made it several inches moving his hands and his feet around a footstool yesterday)

We're so excited for the phase he's starting into. I love the crawling/walking phase! He's starting to lose a little baby fat since he moves so much now! He's still a cute little chub but he's definitely trimming up.

Kayda is still trying to figure out talking. She's added the word "go" (she loves to race) and has learned some animal sounds. Cow (she's known for a while), dog, chicken, sheep and monkey. She is starting to want to help me make Dillon's bottles. Sometimes she helps me scoop in the formula.

Last Friday, Monday and Today they stayed over at Aunt Anna's with her, Peyton and Mikey while I was working. (Grandma G is in Pullman) Kayda has been having a blast! Apparently on the first day there Aunt Anna discovered that Mikey had a poopy diaper and Kayda went and got her the diapers and the wipes. Kayda loves playing with them and apparently Peyton has been enjoying it becasue today he said" Kayda's leaving?" Aunt Anna told him yes and Peyton's response was "I will miss her." I'm glad that he enjoys her company so much. Dillon is having a great time with Aunt Anna too, she was playing "boo" with him yesterday so when I got there she showed me. Everytime she said "boo" Dillon just cracked up laughing. Thank you SO much Aunt Anna. It's wonderful to know that they're with someone that they know and are comfortable with while Grandma G is off in Pullman.

We have TWO new nephews!!!

Owen 9-5-2008, 8 lbs 4 oz, 20.5 inches

Chase 9-9-2008, 7 lbs. 5 oz, 20.5 inches

We're VERY excited to meet them both!

So Sweet

Well, not a whole lot has been happening. The kids are keeping me on my toes, they aren't lining up their naps anymore and they are both getting over colds, hence the lack of posts. Kayda and Dillon have developed a new level to their relationship. The morning routine has been altered drastically. As soon as Kayda gets up in the morning she comes into Mommy and Daddy's room where she knows her little brother will be (I gave up on getting him out of here until after camping). Once she's there she'll get up on the bed and whisper "hi" to Dillon while she rubs his head or gives him kisses. Once he's decided to wake up she'll pull the clock radio off the dresser, turn on the music, grab Dillon's hands and try to dance with him. I thought they had a good relationship before but they are definitely bonding even more! Kayda is constantly going over to him and he watches her EVERY move.
She was trying to feed him her milk the other day and she ALWAYS wants to hold him. It's fun trying to help her hold him. Your arms get sore trying to keep him in a decent position for her.

Last Tuesday I discovered that Dillon now has his second tooth (his bottom left). I have yet to get a picture where you can see either of them, I'll keep trying though. He hasn't decided that he wants to roll over yet. He has all of the pieces but just can't decide to do them at the same time. It's actually pretty entertaining. He'll push his legs so that he twists at his hips. His stomach will still be flat on the ground but his little bum will be sideways. Or he'll push himself up on his arms and twist his little body around to look at everything but his legs won't have moved at all. If he would twist everything at the same time he'd have it but I'm starting to think he'll crawl before he rolls over. He is constantly pulling his legs underneath him and he can move himself around pretty good, slowly but he does move. He's a total sweetheart, he just sits and looks at you until you look at him or talk to him and then he'll just smile forever.

I thought this picture was cute, Kayda has decided that she likes her tooth brush. She can't brush her teeth on her own but she's obviously picking it up from her nightly brushing that I do for her. She was playing with the water and chewing on her toothbrush. She looks all grown up and responsible standing on the chair looking like she's brushing her teeth.

Totally different topic. My sister is now on a modified bed rest, meaning she can start to do a little more as long as she doesn't start having contractions. We're happy our unborn nephew will be able to stay in a little longer. Sarah (my sister in law) is also expecting around the same time, her little guy hasn't given us any scares though. I thought it was funny that Kirsten and Sarah had their last babies within two weeks of each other and are now both having boys due once again within two weeks of each other.